Blues in the Night
by Elennare
Summary: Ryan and Kelsi run into each other in the middle of the night. Post HSM3.


_**AN** : All I know about Juilliard and its dorms I learned from Google - all corrections gratefully accepted!_  
 _This is what happens when I rewatch High School Musical 3 :P Written for the "sleepless" challenge at fan_flashworks. Also fits the "school" and "borrowed title" challenges. The title comes from a musical, which seemed right for the fandom and characters._

 _ **ETA** : Ryan is portrayed as gay and Kelsi as asexual in this fic. At one point they joke about the idea of people thinking they're in love; this wasn't meant in any way to be jab at the shippers, just a bit of poking fun at the trope of "boy and girl can never ever be friends ever, there is always romance!", which is much too present IMO in media and in real life. I never thought of it being read that way, but a reviewer did and was upset - I'm sorry about that! - so I wanted to clarify._

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Kelsi rolled over once more, gave up on sleeping for now, and slipped quietly out of bed. The melody in her head just wouldn't let her rest until it was put down on paper, but her roommate was a light sleeper; so she picked up a notebook and pen, and made her way to the common area. Turning on a lamp, she curled up on the sofa and began to write, soon losing herself in the notes.

"Kelsi? What are you doing?"

She looked up, startled. Ryan, standing in the doorway, looked almost as surprised as she was.

"A song wouldn't let me sleep," she answered, holding up her notebook. "What about you?"

"I can't sleep either… mind if I join you?"

She nodded. "Let me just finish this, I won't be a minute."

Ryan sat down next to her, keeping silent as she scribbled in the last few bars. When she put down her pen, he asked, "Can I see it?"

"Sure," she said, and handed over the notebook. "It's just a rough draft, though."

He read through it, humming under his breath, then gave it back with a smile. "It's great. I can't wait to hear you play it."

"Thank you," she said, smiling, then looked at him more carefully, noting how fast his smile had vanished. "How are you?"

He grimaced. "You heard?"

"Yeah." Though she didn't want to say so, Kelsi was almost sure everyone on campus had heard.

"God, I hate this place sometimes. It's worse than East High! There at least I could hide behind whatever Sharpay's latest schemes were."

"You and Steve did have a screaming break-up in the middle of the cafeteria," she pointed out gently, and Ryan groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"I'm never going to live this down," he grumbled.

"This is Juilliard, people are dramatic, they'll forget it," she suggested. "I'm sorry it didn't work out with Steve."

With one of his usual quick changes, Ryan leaned back against the sofa and affected a drawl. "Don't worry about me, darling, I'm fine. I'm an Evans twin, remember. We don't have feelings."

Kelsi just wrinkled her nose at him. She'd heard that line before too many times to count, ever since Ryan had overheard it from one of the Drama Club kids back in their sophomore year at East High. It was good he was using it, really; it meant he probably wasn't too upset.

"It must be something to do with the glitter I've got in my veins instead of blood," he continued, and she frowned. That one was new.

"Did Steve say that?"

"What, you didn't get a word-for-word report? I'm disappointed," he said, and she poked him. "Yes, he did… and actually now I repeat it it's the most ridiculous overdramatic line ever, isn't it?"

"A bit," Kelsi replied, trying to hide her smile.

"A bit? It's one of the worst I've ever heard and I grew up with Sharpay," he answered with a snort.

"Have you told Sharpay yet?" she asked.

He nodded. "Phoned her this afternoon. She made several offers to help me get even with him, including hiring hitmen."

"Well, that's… supportive and caring in a creepy way?" Kelsi offered, and Ryan chuckled.

"Sounds like my sister! I said no hitmen, before you ask." Then he sighed. "Anyway, that's it, lesson learned. No more dating Drama guys. I'd say no more dating Juilliard guys, but that pretty much reduces to no dating at all… maybe you've got the right idea there, life would be simpler."

"Yeah? Tell my parents that," she muttered, several awkward conversations going through her head.

Ryan gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, that was stupid. I know it's not easy for you either."

"It's fine," she reassured him. "But are you all right? Do you want to talk about it? I'm here for you, you know."

He was silent for a few seconds, looking off into space. Then he slowly nodded. "I'm all right, or I will be. I mean… I did like Steve, and part of me still does, but most of me knows he's an asshole. I'll be fine." His lips twitched into a tiny smile. "The extremely public break-up I could have done without, though! I can't wait until next year when I can get my own place."

"You're not going to stay on campus?" Kelsi asked, surprised. He'd never mentioned moving away before, always seeming to thrive on being in the middle of things all the time.

"I want my own bathroom and a proper wardrobe," he replied with a wink. Then, more seriously, "Wouldn't you like to get away from it all sometimes?"

"Yes, but I don't think I can afford it really, and we have practice rooms here…"

"Why don't we get a place together then? We'd have a piano, obviously, so you could practice."

"Wouldn't that cost the earth?" she asked. It sounded nice, but she could imagine the sort of place Ryan would want, and there was no way she'd be able to afford it.

"We could sort that out. You'd have to put up with me, I'm pretty sure that would entitle you to make me pay most of the rent," he answered, grinning. "Seriously, think about it. I'm definitely moving off campus, and it'd be a lot more fun if you came with me."

"It would be nice," she said, tilting her head as she considered it. "Though I don't know what my parents would say."

"Why, because you'd be moving in with a _boy_? The horror!"

"Actually, they'd probably assume I'm secretly in love with you or something," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well, we went to prom together, so of course we're going to get married and have five children and a dog," Ryan said, matching her eye-roll. "Come on, Kelsi, say you will!"

"What, marry you? Oh, Ryan, I thought you'd never ask!" she said, fluttering her eyelashes, and they both had to cover their mouths to muffle their laughter.

"Rent an apartment with me, idiot. Do! I'll even let you borrow my hats."

"Well, with an offer like that, how can I resist?" she asked, still giggling. "We should probably talk about it at not three in the morning, but I'll think about it, I promise."

"That's all I ask," he said, standing and pulling her up. "Sleep well."

"You too," she answered, keeping hold of his hands and pressing them gently.

He smiled appreciation for the comforting gesture. "I will. Thank you."


End file.
